Participatory design exercises engage stakeholders and end users in the process of solving a design problem. Participants bring their own perception of the problem and may offer unique ideas and design solutions based on user needs and preferences that were not evident tothe researcher.
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Structured, one-on-one interviews help researchers learn about users’ attitudes and beliefs surrounding a website or application and specific tasks that the website or application supports.
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A Heuristic Evaluation, or Usability Audit, is an evaluation of an interface by one or more Human Factors experts. Evaluators measure the usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the interface based on 10 usability heuristics originally defined by Jakob Nielsen in 1994. Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics, which have continued to evolve in response to user research and new devices, include:
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Most people have heard of brainstorming and probably been involved in some type of brainstorming exercise; however, facilitated brainstorming is much different than simply gathering in a small group and sharing ideas. Facilitated brainstorming is a generative exercise, which involves a moderator who keeps the group focused on the exercise and tracks all of the participants’ ideas. Here are some guidelines for facilitating a brainstorming session:
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A contextual task analysis, or contextual inquiry, is a user research method that applies ethnographic observation and one-on-one interviewing to understand the task procedures that users follow to reach their goals. The researcher silently observes the user at work in his or her natural work environment and notes any tools and people that support the user as they work toward task goals.
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A charrette is an intense generative exercise that takes place over multiple days, and involves a multi-disciplinary group of participants. The purpose of a charrette is to efficiently generate design solutions for a project while considering diverse viewpoints of the stakeholders involved.
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To determine the level of usability for a website, one or more usability experts “walk” through a set of the most typical user tasks supported by the website, one-step-at-a-time.
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Card sorting is a useful tool to determine how users categorize the information that will appear on a website. The name “card sort” comes from the original exercise, which used index cards with a word or phrase written on one side, and in some cases, a definition or additional information on the reverse side. There are traditionally two types of card sort exercises used: open card sort, and closed card sort.
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